My life around the country, travel, hobbies, food and family

Fish and Seawatch Restaurant

Great Lent is the fasting season before Easter, and in the Greek Orthodox Church, it has many restrictions,one of which is that fish is only allowed in two days during lent: Annunciation of The Theotokos and Palm Sunday.

The Annunciation of the Theotokos falls on March 25th, which happens to also be the day Greeks celebrate their independence by the way. The Theotokos is Virgin Mary, and the feast celebrates the day Archangel Gabriel appeared to Virgin Mary to announce to her that she would conceive and bear Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. And as the feast falls during Great Lent, we celebrate by looser fasting restrictions and eat fish.

Well, I did not go to church that day, but I did eat fish. Bill went all out and took us to Wailea, to watch the sunset and eat fish at Seawatch Restaurant at Wailea Golf Club. It was awesome!

We started out with a delicious appetizer of Ahi Sashimi, with daikon sprouts, pickled ginger & wasabi.

For the main course, I went with the special for that night, uku,a grey snapper, grilled and mango spiced, and the best sweet mashed potatoes I have ever tasted,with mango vanilla butter sauce. Yum!

Bill got the Huikau Eke;Opakapaka (Pink Snapper) , scallops,tiger prawns and vegetables grilled in parchment paper, and opened at the table side. Yum, very delicious!

Seawatch has a nice atmosphere, service is good, not great though, and food is delicious. Compared to similar Lahaina restaurants, I thought it was a little more pricey, but I guess so is everything in Wailea. Overall, I'd love to eat at Seawatch again, it was a pleasant experience.

I was raised Methodist and when I was a kid, we didn't "do" Lent. Not sure why. But the Methodist church where my brother and his family go now does celebrate Lent. My nephews are really into it. Mason (age 8) gave up pizza, and Davis (age 6) gave up pancakes. Mason is having a harder time but is very proud of himself (though he says he wants pizza for breakfast on Easter morning!).

Just looking at the pictures and hearing "Wailea" brings back the feeling of balmy nights, lovely views and a longing to be there. Your dinner looks divine and romantic. Enjoy every moment. I'm sure you do.

I find it very interesting that during Lent, fish is only eaten on two days. Do you fast during Lent and abstain from eating meat on Fridays? Roman Catholics practice fasting and abstinence on Fridays during Lent and on Ash Wednesday. I eat fish or seafood almost everyday during Lent.

Annie, it is great that your nephews are giving up foods they like for lent. I often say that I do lent for me not for the church, I think it is a humbling experience, that bring you closer to other people and kids all over the world, who don't and can't have what you take for granted. They may not realize that as kids, but bravo to them. And tell Mason not to feel bad, I often overeat on Easter Sunday too, even foods I don't normally eat:)

Barb, you are welcome anytime:)

Maria, the mango vanilla butter sauce was so delicious, I made sure I got every last drop of it:)
Okay, so for Great Lent, there are many restrictions that there is actually a calender that says what's allowed and what's not for specific days. But overall, for the whole six weeks of Great Lent: no meat, no fish and no dairy(no animal products what so ever). Some days, no wine or olive oil. And only two days, one can have fish. Friday is no different than the rest of the days, as there is not much less than that one can go with.
I normally, give up meat for the whole six weeks, eat fish in the couple feast days, allow myself to indulge on couple shrimp days, allow cheese on weekends, and do very strict fast during the holy week.I love it.